On 17 March, President of Latvia Egils Levits honoured the members of the national resistance movement and hosted the online conference ‘Battle of Latvia. Researching and remembering the national resistance movement’.
In his opening remarks, President of Latvia Egils Levits underlined, ‘We have to thank our ancestors for giving us the valuable opportunity to be the masters of our destiny and live in a free and independent Latvia. Those who supported the right of Latvia and its people to be free had to fight for it throughout the 50 years of occupation. Many sacrificed their lives and spent countless years in prisons. Now that Latvia is free, it is our obligation today to keep the national resistance movement and its members in our memory, remember everyone who kept our national aspirations alive throughout the occupation. Memory determines our future patterns. These patterns belong to moral framework of our nation’.
After President’s introductory speech, conference continued with a discussion between the historians, with Dr. hist. Uldis Neiburgs, researcher at University of Latvia National History Institute (ULNHI), Mag. hist. Zigmārs Turčinskis, researcher at ULNHI, and Gints Zelmenis, senior expert of the National Archives and author of ‘National resistance movement in Latvia: 1959-1986’, as the invited speakers. Viewers were also offered special video interviews from locations of historic events like Cēsis, Īle Bunker, Renda National Resistance Movement Museum, National Resistance Movement Memorial in Stompaki Marsh.
In conclusion, President of Latvia thanked everyone who keeps nurturing the memory of the national resistance: ‘I want to thank all historians who are studying its history, colleagues who agreed to join today’s discussion, and the moderator. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of what you do for our collective memory despite being so few. I also want to thank everyone who continues to keep the memory of resistance movement and those who agreed to show their civic position in those interviews’. He also thanked state and municipal institutions that support various memory activities, including teachers and regional museums, which are engaged in studying the stories about resistance movement and its members in the living memory of Latvian nation. Egils Levits personally thanked history teacher Roberts Ķipurs who is leading a pupil’s group that works on digital map of national partisan battle and memorial grounds. President also thanked media and artists who are telling the stories of resistance movement and its members through their work.
President of Latvia Egils Levits has urged Saeima to declare 17 March the National Resistance Movement Remembrance Day in Latvia. According to President, national resistance movement remembrance day will be a strong reminder of the continuity of Latvian State throughout both periods of totalitarian occupation and need to safeguard today’s freedom and democracy of Latvia.
Speech by the President of Latvia Egils Levits
Good afternoon, dear members of national resistance movement, researchers, memory keepers, and participants of today’s virtual conference,
We have to thank our ancestors for giving us the valuable opportunity to be the masters of our destiny and live in a free and independent Latvia. Those who supported the right of Latvia and its people to be free had to fight for it throughout the 50 years of occupation. Many sacrificed their lives and spent countless years in prisons.
Now that Latvia is free, it is our obligation today to keep the national resistance movement and its members in our memory, remember everyone who kept our national aspirations alive throughout the occupation. Memory determines our future patterns. These patterns belong to moral framework of our nation.
I
77 years ago, on 17 March, while Latvia was under German occupation, 188 Latvian politicians, academics and popular public figures finished collecting signatures for Memorandum of Latvian Central Council demanding restoration of democracy and independence of Latvia.
72 years ago, on 17 March, although outnumbered, 24 national partisans fought 760-KGB men strong formation and celebrated their last victory in a war for free and independent Latvia.
17 March carries a lot of symbolic meaning.
In its Memorandum on behalf of the Latvian people, Latvian Central Council declared de iure independence and continuity of Latvia despite it being occupied by Germany. It was an official document issued by a state. A document which belongs to other ‘constitutional documents’ in a broad sense.
Īle Bunker itself is a vivid reminder of our national partisans’ spirit, their commitment to continue fighting Soviet occupation with guns in their hands.
That is why I have urged our legislators to designate 17 March as the national resistance movement remembrance day in the Law on public holidays, remembrance days and national holidays.
On this day we should pay tribute to all those who continued to resist the occupation, which began with initial Soviet occupation in 1940 and lasted all the way to 1990 when the independent Republic of Latvia was restored.
II
On 17 March 1944, Latvian Central Council led by Konstantīns Čakste adopted a Memorandum, which declared that the Republic of Latvia continues to exist de iure under the international law. Memorandum also stressed that this shall prevent German occupation force from mobilising Latvian residents. Memorandum is an unequivocal manifestation of Latvian nation’s conviction that Latvian State continues to exist de iure and its sovereignty must be restored de facto.
Putting your name and surname on this Memorandum at a time when Latvia was occupied took a lot of civic courage. Those who signed it were persecuted by Germans and later also Soviet regime. Konstantīns Čakste was arrested and locked away in a Stutthof concentration camp. He died in village of Gans in February 1945.
Memorandum of the Latvian Central Council is our constitutional legacy. Fundamental constitutional principles of Latvian State are encoded in it. Names of Konstantīns Čakste and other who signed the Memorandum should forever remain in the collective memory of our nation.
III
Brave border force officers should also be properly recognised in our collective memory. They kept the oath given to the state of Latvia and were the first to face the Soviet occupation force in early hours of 15 June 1940. Latvian border guards at Abrene district Masļenki and Šmaiļi posts spared no men in an attempt to keep the overwhelming Soviet force away. They were the first to lose their lives in this fight for Latvia.
Those who stood up to Red Army units retreating from Latvia in summer of 1941 near Ragana, Krimulda parish, Limbaži and Jaunalūksne parish also belong to our resistance movement.
IV
We need to conduct a detailed study, identify and bring back in our collective memory all those national partisans who engaged in active armed opposition to German and Soviet occupation forces during and after the war. Such groups formed in all regions of Latvia where bigger and smaller national partisan formations emerged from all classes of the society.
Under the leadership of Lieutenant Roberts Rubenis, Kurelians fought the overwhelming German force in forests of Kurzeme in November-December of 1944. They were fighting for Latvia. There were other partisan groups in Kurzeme: Homeland hawks (“Tēvijas vanagi”) and North Kurzeme Partisan League. Vidzeme had National Self-defence Partisan Organisation (“Latviešu pašaizsardzības partizānu organizācija”) and National Union of Letts. Whereas South Latgale and Sēlija were defended by Latvian Homeland Guard League.
The biggest and fiercest battle between national partisans and Soviet occupation forces unravelled on 2-3 March 1945, near Stompaki Marsh. It is one of the high points of partisan resistance, which will be remembered in the history as a significant victory. Captain Rolands Ozols was the one who led the men into the battle. After his death, Pēteris Supe became the leader of Latvian national partisans, but he was killed by KGB a year later.
Stompaki battle should receive much more recognition in our collective memory than it does right now.
And these are just some of the national partisan groups. According to historians, armed national partisan formations that opposed Soviet occupation enlisted up to 12,237 people at different moments in time. They continued to fight until 1957, which is 12 years after the end of the World War II. Thousands were killed, some deported, while others were brutally broken down by occupation machine.
National partisans were fighting for independence of Latvian State. We have historical evidence of Latvian people fighting occupation forces that proves those who want to insult our past wrong. From Masļenki border force to national partisan movement, Latvians were ready to take guns into their hands and fight for independence and freedom tooth and claw.
And they were helped and supported by majority of Latvians. Without people’s support they would not have lasted as long.
V
And then there was also the non-violent resistance, from the very beginning, to the last day of the occupation. Non-violent resistance groups opposing both occupying powers varied: bigger, smaller, some had organization, some did not. Some consisted of only a couple of members. There were school and student resistance groups, people who had sheltered those who were supposed to join occupation armies, people who rescued Jews and Roma, boatsmen bringing refugees across the sea, authors and editors of underground press and political manifestos.
We do not know the names of everyone yet. And many will remain unknown, but it is our duty to pay tribute to those who fought the fight.
A book about Valentīns Lasmanis, a man who helped bring Latvians across the sea by boats, is just one of the more recent examples in the long process of reconstructing collective memory.
VI
I invite everyone to show their respect to all those who kept the resistance going during the long years of Soviet stagnation on 17 March.
Crimson-white-crimson flag was snuck up the highest tower in the city time and time again, anti-Soviet leaflets and books banned by Soviet rule kept circulating, Western radio broadcast recordings were made and distributed.
Gunārs Astra was sent to prison camp for 7 years, followed by five years in exile, for distributing ‘dangerous literature’ banned by communist power during the occupation. Core of the post-war ‘creative resistance’, Lidija Doroņina-Lasmane, Ints Cālītis, Knuts Skujenieks, Jānis Rožkalns, any many others were arrested, jailed and persecuted.
Historical evidence suggests that as many as 216 members of resistance movement were persecuted between 1959 and 1986. It is only a fraction of those who are yet to be identified. Every time a Latvian flag flew a top of a structure, we reminded everyone that we want our freedom. Everyone, who was brave enough to openly tell the truth about what was happening back then, spoke for the people. The amount of opposition we put up is astonishing given the resources Soviet power had for spying and breaking people down. This period of national resistance should also be studied, analysed and become sharper in our living collective memory.
VII
According to the Preamble of the Latvian Constitution, ‘The people of Latvia did not recognise the occupation regimes, resisted them and regained their freedom by restoring national independence’. This short sentence encompasses the essence of national resistance movement from 1940 to 1990 when Latvia became free again. It is a testimony to the greatness and the ideals of resistance.
This is a sentence which speaks of our collective accountability and specific responsibility of the state. We have barely started studying the national resistance movement and are yet to fully comprehend its role in the history of our state. That is why we need a full-scale national research programme for studying the history of national resistance and nurturing its memory.
I am happy that Research Council has finally decided to fund the University of Latvia Institute of Historical Research project ‘Revisiting statelessness: resistance and collaboration during the World War II’. But studies like these should not be implemented on project basis only.
There is a vast field of research spanning 50 years. Half-century of memories Soviet occupation rule wanted to wipe out of the people’s memory. This requires adequate funding and support from science policy-makers and the whole society.
Latvia needs to develop a memory policy which fits its democratic values. A policy supporting national research programme on resistance movement and promoting remembrance.
There is one common thread between collective memory and language of a nation. You start learning it in the family when you are young, continue to learn it in school and keep mastering it as you grow old. Historical memory is the unbreakable and lasting bond between us and our people and state. We need more remembrance and respect for our heroes today. That is what we need. As a reminder of the privilege of living in free, independent and democratic Latvia, a privilege paid for with someone else’s, making us civically responsible for keeping it, or even defending, from any harm.
Thank you!